AURORA RISING, the buzzed-about new label dedicated to unearthing and reissuing masterpieces from the earliest days of electronic music, delivers its third reissue: the world's first-ever analog reissue of a masterpiece from 1957 — a precious document of the earliest tape music, brimming with romance and elegance, by three pioneering masters, Otto Luening, Vladimir Ussachevsky and William Bergsma, the founders of the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center in the US. (Denshi Ongaku Tsushin 2016.11.2)
First up is a work for orchestra and tape recorder: A1 "A Poem In Cycles And Bells" (sample1), an idyllic gem performed by the Royal Danish Radio Orchestra under the direction of Otto Luening with tape manipulation by V. Ussachevsky; A2 "Piece For Tape Recorder" (sample2), where Ussachevsky's glittering, dignified tape music shines throughout; A3 "Suite From 'King Lear'" (sample3), a meditative, dreamlike piece by the Luening/Ussachevsky team; and filling the entire B side, the dramatically unfolding electronic work for string orchestra by William Bergsma, "The Fortunate Islands" — four tracks in all.
(Original Japanese text by COMPUMA)
First up is a work for orchestra and tape recorder: A1 "A Poem In Cycles And Bells" (sample1), an idyllic gem performed by the Royal Danish Radio Orchestra under the direction of Otto Luening with tape manipulation by V. Ussachevsky; A2 "Piece For Tape Recorder" (sample2), where Ussachevsky's glittering, dignified tape music shines throughout; A3 "Suite From 'King Lear'" (sample3), a meditative, dreamlike piece by the Luening/Ussachevsky team; and filling the entire B side, the dramatically unfolding electronic work for string orchestra by William Bergsma, "The Fortunate Islands" — four tracks in all. (Original Japanese text by COMPUMA)